Baby Things

A work in progress but a good starting point for mom's to be thinking about what items to put on the registry.  I made this list with the help of a bunch of wonderful ladies.  Please feel free to add your favorites in the comments...

Baby Clothing Must Have:

Short Sleeve Onesies

Long Sleeve Onesies

Tank Onesies

Hats (Colder Areas)

Socks (Can Double at Mits)

Sleep Sacks (Halo, Zipadee-zip, Summer Infant SwaddleMe Sacks)

Gowns (Open Bottoms)

Basics for Baby:

Swaddle Blankets (Aiden & Anais, Summer Infant SwaddleMe Sacks)

Burp Cloths (Gerber Cloth Diapers - absorbs best)

Waterproof Pads (Washable)

Crib Sheets

Paci Clips
Paci (WubbaNubba)

Gear for Baby:

Swings (Rock N Play, Graco 2-in-1)

Pack N Play (Graco)

Bouncer (SnuggaBunny, One that Vibrates)

Bumbo Seat (Buy Used - Mixed Reviews)

Baby Carrier (Moby Wrap, Baby Bjorn, Ergo Baby)

Boppy Pillow

Stroller (BOB)

Noise Machine (Cloud b. Giraffe, FP Soothe & Glow Seahorse)

Bath Tub (Can Also Use Sink or Shallow Rubbermaid Tub)

Car Seat (Buy Higher End)

Other:

Baby Lotion/Soap (Aveeno Baby)

Diaper Kits (Wipes, Diapers, Cream & Extra Onesie for each Car/Bag)

Diaper Bag (Eddie Bauer Backpack)

Thermometers (Travel and Home)

Sanitary Bags (Instead of DiaperGenie use Poo Baggies, Arm & Hammer)

Microwave Sanitation Bags (For Nipples & Pacis)

Mom Basics:

Nursing Bras/Cover (Lightweight)

Nipple Shield

Lanolin Cream

Breast Pump (Manual or Electric - Madela) *Free in USA

Witch Hazel Pads (Hospital May Provide)

Breast Pads

Sanitary Pads (HEAVY Flow for Postpartum)

Dinner?

Sometimes we don’t have enough time in the day (ok most times) but there are weeks when we don’t buy/plan enough meals for one reason or another and end up ordering in just for convenience.  In an attempt to not do that, I've decided to utilize our pantry.

Last night I had planned to go to the grocery store but forgot we were picking up my mom's cat and I didn’t want to leave him in the car so I decided I would see if I would make a meal of the odds and ends we have at home.  Turned out to be one of my darlings new favorite meals and Bear gobbled it up too!

I made simple chicken parm, what "made" the meal was my 5 second attempt at red sauce when I realized we were out of the goodness in a jar we normally have.  I am listing the recipe below and will follow with a blog on “staple” items to keep on hand and what you can do with them last minute.

Quick Meal: Chicken Parm

Chicken Parm:

Thin sliced chicken breast (2 per person)

Italian Bread crumbs

1/4 Cup Milk

1 Cup Italian Cheese

Grated Parmesan (optional)

5 Second Sauce:

1 Can Diced Tomatoes

5 Fresh basil leaves (we have a garden)

1 Tablespoon chopped garlic (fresh or jar)

1 Box of Pasta - I buy the spaghetti called “pot ready” it’s shorter in length so it fits in the pot without getting spaghetti pieces all of over the kitchen.

Optional: Garlic Bread (I used leftover rolls/bread, sliced thin and stuck them under the broiler with butter and powdered garlic)

Turn your oven to 350 F and line a baking sheet with tin foil or parchment paper.  Put ¼ cup milk in a bowl and bread crumbs on a place.  Dip each piece in milk then coat in the crumbs and place on the baking sheet.  Pop in the oven.

Put a pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil, add pasta and follow box directions (usually about 10 mins).

While everything cooks, put the can of tomatoes, garlic and basil into a blender or food processor (we have a Ninja) and blend or pulse for 5 seconds. Pour into a sauce pan and let bubble on the stove to heat through (add salt if desired).

Pull out the chicken and top with the Italian Blend cheese and put back into the oven until melted and chicken is cooked through.  Drain your pasta and serve!

Adventure Days

In an effort to be a healthier more active family we have started "Adventure Days" on the weekends.  We've made it a goal to pick either Saturday or Sunday and go somewhere fun outside for at least half the day.  It's been amazing!

I spent lots of my childhood wandering around woods, riding my bike and using my imagination in the back yard and that's something that is still really important to me and I want nature to be important to Bear too. Not to mention the health benefits of the great outdoors.

The first weekend we went exploring in our neighborhood, turns out we have miles of conservation trails and a giant hill covered in daisies!  Next we went to Fort Williams in Cape Elizabeth and it was BEAUTIFUL!

Climbing on the bunkers

Learning some history as we walked through this creepy wall

Soaking up some sunshine

I've found this to be what I look forward to each weekend.  We don't have many warm months in Maine and it feels good to take advantage of it.

PlusPeace

Tasty Tuesday Recipe!

We are all about cool treats on summer weekends but not so cool with food dyes and additives.  Try out this easy summer treat that's sure to please!

1/2 Cup Frozen or Fresh Berries (make sure they are ripe and sweet)

1 Cup Plain Kefir

2 Cups Vanilla Yogurt

Freeze the vanilla yogurt for 2 hours or until frozen.  Put it into a blander or food processor with frozen berries and kefir.  Blend until smooth.  If you find that it's too tart for your liking add in some agave or honey. You can also get creative and sub the berries for bananas, peaches or pineapple. Yum!

Enjoy!

This is also really good if you spoon into pop molds and re-freeze for a treat later.

PlusPeace

Golden Meal

Sometimes I notice we go through stretches where we eat a lot of what I like to call "golden meals". These types of foods include:

Hamburgers
French fries
Chicken wings/tenders/nuggets
Hot Dogs
Grilled cheese
Onion rings
Mozzarella sticks
Basically anything "golden" and usually fried

These meals are nice going down but ALWAYS leave us sluggish, bloated and unhappy.  I've been scared to try "healthy" golden meals but made one tonight without realizing and it hits the spot without leaving us feeling yuck: Breaded Chicken with Roasted Cauliflower and Quinoa

To feed a toddler and 2 adults:
2 large boneless chicken breasts sliced thin
1 head cauliflower chopped in 1" pieces
1/2 cup rinsed quinoa
Shake n bake (or breading of choice)
Olive oil
Powdered garlic, paprika, salt
Vegetable bouillon

Preheat oven to 400.  Rinse and coat chicken with breading (I don't use milk or egg) lay on a foil lined baking sheet. In a gallon bag add cauliflower pieces, drizzle with 1tbs olive oil, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp garlic and a pinch of salt. Shake bag and put with the chicken on the foil lined pan. Pop in the oven.

In a small pot put rinsed quinoa, 1 cup water, 1/2 vegetable bouillon cube and a pinch paprika. Stir and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Set the timer for 8 minutes.

After 8 minutes, flip the chicken and toss cauliflower. Set the timer for 7 minutes.

Remove quinoa from heat and stir. Set oven to broil and watch closely. You just want a nice light crisp (about 6 minutes). Remove from oven and serve.

It's crispy, crunchy, healthy, filling and the cauliflower gives the illusion of French fries. Nom!!

PlusPeace

Glorious Coconut Oil

I am back!  I left the blogging world to focus on some personal goals and I am back at a place where I can sit down and finally write up some of the posts I've been saving up!

I am starting out with a small post on coconut oil.  This stuff is awesome - it's good for you to eat and it's good for your skin too!  I have used it in some baking recipes, vegetable stir fry and as a super moisturizer for my legs and makes awesome lip gloss/chap stick replacement.

Thankfully, I live in Maine so it pretty much stays as a solid and the most "liquid" it has become is like Vaseline consistency.  I love it, I use it on me and I use it on my kid.

I bought mine at Traders Joes in a 16 oz jar for $5.99 (the same size jar at a regular grocery store was $21.95) The ONLY ingredient is "Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil" - so you know its good!  I wanted a "travel size" version so I picked up three "cosmetic cases" at target for $1.

I scooped out about 6 tablespoons of the coconut oil and heated it in a glass jar (30 seconds in the microwave) until mostly liquid.  Divided it between the three jars, put the lids on and froze overnight.  Now I can have one in my purse, one at my desk and an extra for my car.

If you are not familiar with coconut oil, check out this giant list of 101 Uses for Coconut Oil

Love,
PlusPeace

Kids Craft Christmas Decor

Say that one ten times fast!  Between Tim and I we were really starting fresh with Christmas decorations.  He came with a cute ceramic tree from his childhood and a stocking and I had some ornaments my mom gave me along with ones I inherited from my Dad.  Now that we are in our own house and living on a budget I was really missing my mom's endless boxes of Christmas decorations.

Bear and I were feeling crafty and in the holiday spirit and made up some great easy decorations that kids can help with too (ages 3+)!

We made a Pom Pom Garland and a Christmas Star for the window.

Pom Pom Garland

Pom Poms in various sizes and colors
Thread - we used a sparkly silver thread we had leftover
Needle

Thread your needle - I didn't cut my thread to size since I didn't want anything to get tangled.  Have you preschooler choose the pom poms and help you thread them on. We used ones sized .25 inch, .5 inch and 1inch and used neon colors since that's what we had lying around from other crafts.  We didn't worry about the spacing until it was hung up.  We used about 38 pom poms spaced 2" apart to go over our big window in our living room.

Make sure when you are threading them to poke the needle through the center of the pom poms or they will fall off.  They didn't slide around once we spaced them out so we didn't bother to tie any knots before/after each pom pom (too much work)

Christmas Stars

Popsicle sticks - 10 per star and large or small size is fine.
Tacky Glue - I find this works best with popsicle sticks/wood crafts
Modge Podge - any finish will work fine
Foam Brush
Tissue Paper - any color(s)
Thread - for hanging

Arrange your popsicle sticks like shown below and use the tacky glue to hold them together on the ends in the shape of a star.  Let dry (this is a good time to make a pom pom garland or have a Christmas dance party).

Once dry tie your thread around the top of the star - cut long enough for your star to hang where you'd like when it is finished.  Using the foam brush and modge podge, paint on a thin (ish) layer on the back of the sticks and start putting on some tissue paper.  We found it was easiest to make 4 x 4 torn pieces of tissue and to work from there.  You want the paper to go over the edges of the sticks.

Then turn your star over and modge podge the other side and fold the edges over.  Add more modge podge and tissue paper until satisfied.  We only had two colors so we made a green star and a smaller purple star (broke the sticks in half for the smaller star).  Let dry and hang!  I think these would also look really cool with different colored papers collaged on.

What crafts are you going to do this winter?

Love,
PlusPeace